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5 Ways to Follow Up Your Trade Show Leads

Last month, we shared with you some insider tips on increasing your trade show leads. This month, we’re going to advise you on the best ways you can follow up these leads, can convert them into sales.

This is obviously the main goal of your trade show experience, but is the one part of the day that so many people get wrong.

Converting your leads to sales is often more powerful than any marketing you do on the day. Here, are five top tips for following up like a pro:

1. Know your prospect

Before you jump straight in and try to bag the sale, you need to know who you’re calling.

On the day, you should have made adequate notes about each prospect. What do they want from you? What’s their budget? What promises have you made them? Prospects will have spoken to plenty of people on the day, and you need to make sure you know exactly what you’re getting into.

By remembering the conversation you had at your exhibition stand, you come across as caring and professional. More than this, it saves you having to start the selling process all over again. Work on the relationship you established; it is this face-to-face element that makes trade show marketing so popular.

2. Make it personal

When you spoke to the prospect on the day, you will have found out their name, job title, and much more. You connected to them on a personal level. When following up on this lead, make sure you contact the right person.

Address them by name, talk about how nice it was to meet them, even remember more personal elements of the conversation. This helps re-establish your rapport, and increases your response rate.

You should personalise your methods of contact too. Sending out a standard mail shot to 100 prospects will take out the ‘human’ element. It will take more time, but keeping everything personal will help you convert leads to sales much more effectively.

3. Multi-channel approach to connecting

A ‘multi-channel’ approach to contacting your leads is simpler than it sounds.

In brief, this means contacting your leads in a whole host of different ways; all relating back to keeping things personal. For example, some contacts will have expressed their interest and asked you to call them. Make sure you do. If you have no luck, a quick email, tweet, or LinkedIn message is a good way to integrate your outreach.

By obtaining as many different avenues for connecting as possible, you give yourself the best chance of bagging a conversion.

4. Deliver on your promises

What promises did you make at the event? Whatever they were, you need to make sure your follow up delivers on these promises. Nothing will spoil a conversion like going back on your word.

Sticking to a promise shows you put your customers first, and have a great attitude to service. Every customer likes to get something for nothing – or at least think they are – and this is your best chance to do just that.

Customers will buy from companies that give back, and will recommend them to peers and friends. Nothing can be more powerful for you.

5. Be persistent, not a pest

Finally, it can be tempting to chase up your leads repeatedly; leaving them voice mails, and tweeting them constantly. But that is no way to secure a sale. On occasions like this, less is most definitely more.

You need to show that you’re keen, and show a little persistent. But you mustn’t be a pest. This is a fine line that is so easy to cross, but you need to make a conscious effort to step back when you know a lead is lost.

The best way to finish off a hugely successful trade show experience, is by successfully following up on all your leads. Why not put some of these tips to the test after your next exhibition, and see how you can boost your conversion rate?